Personal Income Tax – Salary & Wage Earners

PAYE became a Final Withholding Tax on the 1st January 2013. thus there will be very minimal Form S returns lodged. This is a new system where the correct amount of tax (PAYE final tax) is deducted from your salary/wages.

Any tax overpaid will be refunded and any tax short paid will be recovered from you through the issuance of Commissioner’s assessment, commonly known as Notice of Assessment.

Commissioner’s assessment will be sent to all individuals.

An employee who also receives income from business or share of estate/ partnership must lodge a business return (Form B) with Tax Withholding Certificate attached.

What is the income tax threshold?

The income tax threshold for resident individuals as of 1 January, 2013 is FJ$16,000.
Previous years income tax threshold:

Years

Threshold (FJ)

2013

$16000

2012

$15600

2011

$15000

2010

$15000

2009

$15000

2008 June-December

$15000

2008 January-May

$9000

2007

$8840

2006

$8840

If your employment income is above FJ$16,000, a salary wage earner return is not required to lodge their return unless employee:

- has 2 or more employments during a year and total income received is above $16,000.00;

- receives a demand notice from the Commissioner to lodge a return

Tax rates

Normal tax is levied on Chargeable income ( i.e. Total income less deductions). There will not be any claims for allowances such as Marital, Child, Elderly and FNPF from 2013.

rental/lease income (excluding native lease), whether derived individually, through a Real Estate Agent or the government.

Income from business/investments

This includes the following:

interest received from loans/money lending whether licensed or not.

dividends received from shares/investments.

Residents & non-residents

A person is regarded as a resident if his/her permanent home or place of residence is in Fiji. If a person is not normally a resident in Fiji , he/she may be regarded as a resident if he/she has actually been in Fiji , continuously or regularly during more than one-half of the income year. He/she must satisfy the Chief Executive Officer that he/she will take up residency in Fiji.

Residents are taxed on their worldwide income (all sources) . A resident individual for income tax purposes is a person (other than a company) who resides in Fiji , is domiciled in Fiji or has been in Fiji for more than half of the income year

Non-residents are taxed only on their income derived or earned in Fiji.

Example:
An individual, who is a medical doctor, is granted leave by his employer to work in Australia for 2 years. He does not derive any income in Fiji during that period.

Since he is only working temporarily in Australia, he is still a Fiji resident for tax purposes, therefore is required to lodge returns for the income received in Australia. That income is taxable in Fiji and he will be allowed a credit for the tax paid in Australia.

Relief from Double Taxation

Double taxation of residents is avoided by allowing credits for foreign tax paid on income derived from countries with which Fiji has tax treaties. Fiji allows unilateral relief from double tax on income from non-treaty counties, provided the income has been subject to tax in that other country.
Fiji has entered into agreements for the avoidance of double tax with the following countries:

to refrain from revealing to any person any documents or information without lawful excuse. This prohibition would include the making of copies of returns when requested by the taxpayer.

The form can be hand delivered to any of our Customer Service Centers or sent by post. You do not need to buy a stamp for the envelope, as correspondence addressed to the Chief Executive Officer will be carried by Post Fiji free of charge.

When do I lodge a tax return?

You must lodge your Form S for the immediate preceding year by 31 March each year.

Example:

Year Ending

Due Date for Lodgement

31 December 2014

31 March 2015

31 December 2013

31 March 2014

31 December 2012

31 March 2013

What penalties apply for failing to lodge your tax return by the due dates?

If you lodge your return late, you will be charged Late Lodgement Penalty of 20% on the amount outstanding on the return. An additional 5% penalty will apply for each month of default on the amount of unpaid tax.

What offences apply for not lodging your tax return?

If you do not lodge your return at all, then this will be regarded as an offence. The penalties upon conviction are:

a fine of FJ$15,000 or

imprisonment for term not exceeding 12 months or

both the above

What documentary evidences do I need to submit with my Income tax return?

The Salary & Wage Earner Return (Form S) should be lodged together with the following documentary evidences:

CHECKLIST

1

Tax withholding certificate only for those salary/wage earners that are required to lodge their returns.

2

Tax Withholding Certificate for migrating taxpayers

3

Original dividend certificate if earning any form of dividends during the year.

What records do I need to keep?

Individual taxpayers should always maintain a copy of their yearly tax return lodged with FRCA together with all relevant details. All correspondences to and from FRCA is also to be filed for your own record.

This will enable you to compare your computation of the tax payable or refund due when you receive your notice of assessment. Once your return is received, it becomes the property of the Authority and as such, the Authority is obligated under the secrecy provisions of the FRCA Act to refrain from revealing to any person any documents or information without lawful excuse. This prohibition would include the making of copies of returns when requested by the taxpayer.

You will be notified of the commissioner’s assessment commonly known as Notice of Assessment, which will be posted to your last known postal address.

Can I request for an amendment to my income tax return?

A request for an amendment to your income tax return is only allowed if it is lodged with FRCA within six (6) years from the end of year of assessment. A refund will only be made if it relates to an amendment for any of the three years immediately preceding the 2011 Income Tax Assessment.

Can I lodge an Objection to my Income Tax Assessment?

An objection to an Income Tax Assessment will only be dealt with by the Authority if it is lodged within sixty (60) consecutive days from the date of service of the Notice of Assessment.
Click on the link for more information Amendment & Correspondence Control Unit (ACCU)

Direct Deposit of Refunds

From 2010 there has been no more issuance of refund cheques. All refunds are now deposited into your respective bank accounts.Individuals are to advise their bank account numbers for deposits of their over payments upon receipt of commissioner’s assessment. Ensure that the bank account number must belong to the taxpayer whose refund is to be released.

When and how should I pay my tax?

Any tax payable amount should be settled within thirty (30) days from the date of issue of Commissioner’s Assessment. Should you fail to settle within the due date your case will be referred to our Debt Management Service for recovery purposes.